Comment by visakanv | Hacker News Reader

Comment by visakanv | Hacker News Reader

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I've smoked on and off for about 6 years, with the past year being about 98% off. I can tell you that I do FEEL more focused and clear after a cigarette, but that all the negative side-effects that come with them are totally not worth it. If you really want a stimulant, stick with caffeine.

I've actualy been meaning to write a blogpost about it. Some of the things I've noticed from being on and off cigarettes:

Cigarettes (edit: nicotine, actually) are a depressant (EDIT: and a stimulant), they make the world feel less colourful (LITERALLY), less "noisy".

EDIT: I realize I'm being psuedosciency and imprecise with the previous statement. I'm not sure about the precise distinctions between stimulant/upper/downer, etc. What I CAN tell you is that cigarettes have the following effects for me and my smoker peers, as far as I've known ->

When I'm on cigarettes, my field of vision narrows, colours become duller, I'm marginally more focused on specific tasks, better able to "tune out 'random noise'". Whenever I go off cigarettes, the world feels a little overwhelming and chaotic for a while- my skin is more sensitive to the wind, my eyes are more sensitive to the light, the whole nervous system just gets overwhelmed (because the cigarettes kinda suppess them, in my opinion.)

The short-term gain in focus is nothing great. You can get it by sitting in silence for a minute, breathing deeply, psyching yourself up with a youtube video. Not worth the damage you do to your eyes, nose, gums, teeth, not worth the cough, not worth the smell, the taste... all of that is underreported because there's a "frog in boiling water" effect- the damage is so cumulative that it feels tolerable.

Yes, I remember when cigarettes helped focus my thoughts as a writer, or over conversations with friends... but honestly, taking a walk achieves superior returns, on both counts.

--

Commander Shepard: "What's your opinion of this? The drugs, I mean."

Legion: "These substances enhance short-term performance at the expense of long-term platform survivability. It is fundamentally similar to "over-clocking" geth hardware. We do so whenever necessary. However, should our platform be damaged by overclocking, we can be repaired. Why an organic would choose this is puzzling."

Thanks for sharing and glad you've been almost off cigarettes entirely.

That said, nicotine is a mild stimulant, not a depressant, afaik. It's alcohol that's a depressant.

Thanks!

More anecdotal nonsense: I think almost everybody starts smoking (apart from the social factors) for the stimulant bit- for the 'kick'. It gets you more buzzy when you take shorter, quicker drags. It relaxes you when you take long, slow drags.

I think the net effect of smoking over an extended period of time has a "net depressant effect" (using term loosely), punctuated by the daily/regular stimulation. Very loosely, the opposite effect of exercising and eating healthily over an extended period of time.

That's just my experience, no science involved there. Curious if others relate to this.

Both. Novelly, enough.

How it acts depends on how much is administered.

>Cigarettes are a depressant

You mean something different here than what most people mean when they say depressant. Are you saying that smoking makes you feel bad?

>A depressant, or central depressant, is a drug or endogenous compound that lowers neurotransmission levels, which is to depress or reduce arousal or stimulation, in various areas of the brain. Depressants are also occasionally referred to as "downers" as they lower the level of arousal when taken. Stimulants or "uppers" increase mental and/or physical function are the functional opposites of depressants.

I mean cigarettes (nicotine, actually) are a "downer", the opposite of how LSD is an "upper" (which makes the world more colourful, makes you feel more "connected", etc)

EDIT: I can't reply to your next comment for some reason, but I've been doing some googling and I realize that I'm unclear and mistaken about my drugs and their effects. Making necessary adjustments, thanks.

>A depressant, or central depressant, is a drug or endogenous compound that lowers neurotransmission levels, which is to depress or reduce arousal or stimulation, in various areas of the brain. Depressants are also occasionally referred to as "downers" as they lower the level of arousal when taken. Stimulants or "uppers" increase mental and/or physical function are the functional opposites of depressants.

Hence the reason for my comment. Cigarettes objectively do the opposite of this, which is why they contribute to heart attacks. And when you say LSD is an "upper", you're definitely using it in a different way than most people use it.

He is using the regular medical meaning of the term.

To correct him, though, nicotine acts both as a stimulant and depressant.

You are correct. I was being careless with my terms.

"Why an organic would choose this is puzzling."

He must be fun at gestalt parties...

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